****
The spectacle between Dean Longstrider and Red Bantam was the main topic of conversation for only one day before the story shifted. While Dean and Marisol slumbered, there had been another bear attack. As Dean had an airtight alibi and the Longstrider twins were well out of town before the attack, Sheriff Walker redirected his investigation. He still didn’t trust Dean, but he was more interested in bringing in the wild bear attacking tourists than harassing a man that most were calling a hero. They set traps and called in Fish and Game to handle the situation.
Despite Marisol’s relief that Dean’s theory was correct and that there was another bear in town guilty of the deaths, a black cloud hung overhead every time she came to visit Dean. He understood, but he didn’t know how to tell her that she didn’t need to feel guilty or upset on his behalf. He was a man who made his own decisions. He had no regrets, and that’s what he told Ernie when the man stopped by his hospital room a week after the rodeo.
“I hear they’re discharging you today,” Ernie said.
“Yeah, that’s what they tell me.”
“Where will you go?”
“The Cody Motel, most likely. Least until I get a car or figure something out.”
“Why don’t you come stay with us?” Ernie asked.
“I...I couldn’t impose.”
“It’s not an imposition. You saved my life. It’s the least I can do.”
“Thank you, sir, I appreciate the offer, but I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
He took a deep breath and paused. “Because I’m in love with your daughter, sir. I know that you and Mrs. Vargas don’t approve of me, and I respect that, but I don’t want to cause any tension or strife in your family.”
“Does she feel the same way about you?”
“Yes, sir, I believe she does.”
“Well my offer stands. Mari’s my little girl. She always has my approval and I trust her judgement.” Ernie held out his hand, offering a permanent truce between them. Dean gripped it with a smile.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Mari doesn’t know, but they’re discharging me this afternoon, too. We’ll surprise her together.”
And surprise her they did. She ran out of the house to meet them in the yard, first throwing her arms around her father’s neck, and then pulling Dean into an exuberant embrace. Her smile was as bright as the sun, her eyes twin flecks of glorious amber. Once Dean had her in his arms, it was difficult to let her go. He had a lot of time to think while he was laid up in the hospital, and he spent all that time thinking about her.
Once Anna commandeered Ernie’s time and attention in the house, Mari took Dean’s hand and tugged him away from the front porch. “Come on. I have something I want to show you.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. I’ve been dying to tell you about it for the past two days.”
“Lead the way.”
They walked hand in hand until they reached the far corner of the park and were suitably shaded from sight by the trees. She released his hand and began to undress.
“Hold up, now. What are you doing?”
“I’m showing you what I can do,” Marisol answered with a grin. She tossed her shirt aside and kicked her shorts off, giving Dean a totally unobstructed view of her naked body. He’d always known that she was luscious, but the sight of her made his knees weak and his heart rate triple. He barely had a chance to take in her full radiance before her delectable form disappeared, replaced by the far more intimidating body of a grizzly bear.
Dean gaped at her, stunned and still, strangely enough, turned on. Her lips pulled back, exposing a row of long, deadly teeth, and when she stood up on her hind legs, she was well over six feet tall. She dropped to all fours and closed the distance between them, pushing her muzzle against his chest. He smiled and stroked her head, running his fingers through her long, lustrous fur. She nuzzled closer to him, deep growls of contentment vibrating from her chest.
“Can you shift at will?” he asked.
The question was barely out of his mouth before the bear disappeared and the girl was in his arms once again. “I’ve been practicing for the past week. Every day and every night. What do you think?”
“You’re amazing—that’s what I think. You’re amazing and I have to kiss you.”
“Oh, please do.”
Dean didn’t need to be asked a second time. While he was in the hospital, he didn’t let himself linger over the memory of her soft, inviting lips, but he couldn’t do anything about his dreams. The few kisses they had exchanged fueled a thousand dreams—but the fantasy was nothing like the reality. The taste of her, the feel of her, the heat and pressure and solid reality of her made him ache and rejoice at the same time. The way she held the back of his neck, her nails pressing into his skin with the force of her hunger, only made him want her more. Within seconds, his hunger was whipped into a passionate frenzy.
His hands roamed freely over her naked body, learning every inch of her sweet curves. Her skin was flushed, her body warmed with passion and by the sun. She smelled so good. Dean’s nose was always sensitive, but her scent was overwhelming as it imprinted on him. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he broke away from her mouth and continued his exploration with his lips, kissing her jaw, her throat, her neck, her ear. She dropped her head back, fingers clutching at his shoulders as he continued traveling down her body. When he reached the twin globes of her ample breasts, he dropped to his knees and buried his face between the mounds, pausing for a moment to truly enjoy the beautiful bounty at his fingertips.
“Please don’t stop,” Mari whispered, running her fingers through his hair.
There was no chance of stopping. He was all out of willpower and all out of excuses. There was nothing in the world he wanted the way he wanted her, and it seemed like that had been true for his entire life. He couldn’t get enough of her taste, of the silky texture of her skin, or the way she moaned his name. He cupped one breast while he licked and kissed and suckled and nibbled the other, his dick getting harder with each second that passed.
“Please, Dean...I need…” She wasn’t able to finish the sentence, but her hips thrust forward and that was all the direction he needed. He pulled away from her breasts to move over the swell of her belly and bury his face in the fragrant heat between her thighs. He lapped at her flesh, gathering up the sweet nectar of her arousal, pushing his tongue between her thick lips to find her clit. It trembled beneath his tongue, and even the lightest pressure had her gasping and jerking her hips. Her fingers twisted in his hair, and he welcomed the tingling in his scalp—it served as a minor distraction for the intense throbbing between his legs.
In the back of his mind, he recognized that this was probably Mari’s first time. He wanted her first time to be on a big, comfortable bed, unhurried and perfect, not out in the open where anybody could see them, fueled by raw passion and desperate need. He wanted her to have the best of everything and he wanted to be the one to give it to her. He lifted his head to try to tell her as much, but she sank to her knees and pressed herself against him, kissing him with the same fervent passion he had for her.
“Please...I’m going crazy here,” Mari said against his mouth. “I need you.”
She reached between their bodies, fumbling with his fly, and pulled his cock free. Dean tried to say something, but only a low, whimpering moan escaped him as her hand wrapped around his shaft. She gave him a slow, almost languid stroke, and his balls pulled tight almost immediately.
“Oh God,” he gasped. “Wait...let me…” Somehow, he managed to fumble his wallet from his back pocket and locate the condom he kept tucked away there. It was almost a relief to slide it on—at least it provided a small barrier between his burning flesh and her silky skin. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes. Very sure.”
He gently lowered her to the grass, and she hooked her legs around his waist. He paused, staring down at her, almost incredulous that she was there like that, with him. She was so open, vulnerable, and giving, and soon she would be his completely. He took a deep, steadying breath and aligned himself with her body, the tip of his cock nudging her opening. Dean eased himself into her, taking his time. She was so slick, wet and ready for him, but she was so, so tight. His fear of hurting her intensified and made him hesitant.
Marisol didn’t have the patience or the time for his fear, though. Instead of letting him set the pace and keep it slow, she thrust her hips up to meet his, sheathing him completely. They both gasped as she took in every inch of him, and before Dean could even choke out her name, their bodies were doing what they were built to do, following a rhythm older than time itself.
“Tell me...if I’m hurting you.”
“Doesn’t...hurt. You’re perfect.” She dropped her head back and arched her spine, meeting him stroke for stroke. “Oh God...perfect. It’s perfect. Feels...feels…” As she spoke, she moved, quickening the pace. He didn’t want to go any faster, but he couldn’t help himself from getting caught up in her tempo. The friction, the heat, the glorious reality of her body was too much to withstand. “Oh...Dean.”
He felt her shake apart the moment his world exploded. They clutched at each other, entwined and frozen as they rode out the force of their mutual pleasure together. It felt like an eternity before he had the strength to lift his head and gaze down at her. She smiled back at him, shy and alluring—and satisfied.
“Mari...God, I love you.”
Her smile widened. “You do?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I love you, too.” She pulled him into a slow kiss. He lost himself in the caress, caught up not in raw passion but in the pure, sweet pleasure of her mouth. During his stay in the hospital, he felt like a man without a purpose, but now he understood how foolish that was. He had the money from all the purses he’d won over the past several years, he had his life and his health, and most importantly, he had Marisol. The brightest light in his world. The axis on which his entire universe rotated. The heart on which he could place his faith, his hopes, and his fondest dreams.
THE END